Ivory Coast opposition denounces ‘arbitrary arrest' of 6 party members
Sébastien Dano Djédjé, the executive president of the African Peoples' Party–Côte d'Ivoire, or PPA-CI, the party of former President Laurent Gbagbo, said during a news conference Sunday that the party members were 'abducted and taken to unknown locations' overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
Among them are party members from Youpougon, a suburb of the capital Abdijan, where armed attackers torched a bus and assaulted police days before, he said.
Interior Minister Vagondo Diomandé released a video to a televion news broadcast Sunday showing a man identifying himself as a PPA-CI member confessing involvement in the attack and saying he acted on the party's behalf with 15 others.
The confession was obtained legally, Diomandé said, rebuffing PPA-CI claims that party members were illegally arrested.
'In our country, no arrests are made arbitrarily,' he said. 'The ministry ensures due legal proceedings for all offenses, ending the era of summary and arbitrary detentions that once marred our nation.'
The PPA-CI condemned the bus attack and denied involvement.
Ivory Coast is set to hold a presidential election Oct. 12. Ouattara, who has been in power since 2011, is likely to stay in office with little or no challenge from a weakened opposition.
Dissent has grown in the West African nation, fueled by the exclusion of main opposition candidates from the voter roll, including the PPA-CI's Laurent Gbabgo and the president's most prominent rival, Tidjane Thiam.
Ivory Coast elections have previously been fraught with tension and violence. When Ouattara announced his bid for a third term in 2020, several people were killed in the ensuing violence.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
13 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
August recess can't hide tensions ahead for Congress on spending and Trump nominations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers have left Washington for the annual August recess, but a few weeks of relative quiet on the U.S. Capitol grounds can't mask the partisan tensions that are brewing on government funding and President Donald Trump's nominees. It could make for a momentous September. Here's a look at what's ahead when lawmakers return following the Labor Day holiday.
Winnipeg Free Press
13 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
August recess can't hide tensions ahead for Congress on spending and Trump nominations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers have left Washington for the annual August recess, but a few weeks of relative quiet on the U.S. Capitol grounds can't mask the partisan tensions that are brewing on government funding and President Donald Trump's nominees. It could make for a momentous September. Here's a look at what's ahead when lawmakers return following the Labor Day holiday. A bitter spending battle ahead Lawmakers will use much of September to work on spending bills for the coming budget year, which begins Oct. 1. They likely will need to pass a short-term spending measure to keep the government funded for a few weeks while they work on a longer-term measure that covers the full year. It's not unusual for leaders from both parties to blame the other party for a potential shutdown, but the rhetoric began extra early this year, signaling the threat of a stoppage is more serious than usual. On Monday, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries sent their Republican counterparts a sharply-worded letter calling for a meeting to discuss 'the government funding deadline and the health care crisis you have visited upon the American people.' They said it will take bipartisanship to avert a 'painful, unnecessary shutdown.' 'Yet it is clear that the Trump Administration and many in your party are preparing to go it alone and continue to legislate on a solely Republican basis,' said the letter sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Republicans have taken note of the warnings and are portraying the Democrats as itching for a shutdown they hope to blame on the GOP. 'It was disturbing to hear the Democrat leader threaten to shut down the government in his July 8 Dear Colleague letter,' Thune said on Saturday. '… I really hope that Democrats will not embrace that position but will continue to work with Republicans to fund the government.' Different approaches from the House and Senate So far, the House has approved two of the 12 annual spending bills, mostly along party lines. The Senate has passed three on a strongly bipartisan basis. The House is pursuing steep, non-defense spending cuts. The Senate is rejecting many of those cuts. One side will have to give. And any final bill will need some Democratic support to generate the 60 votes necessary to get a spending measure to the finish line. Some Democratic senators are also wanting assurances from Republicans that there won't be more efforts in the coming weeks to claw back or cancel funding already approved by Congress. 'If Republicans want to make a deal, then let's make a deal, but only if Republicans include an agreement they won't take back that deal a few weeks later,' said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., a veteran member of the House Appropriations committee, said the Democratic minority in both chambers has suffered so many legislative losses this year, 'that they are stuck between a rock and their voting base.' Democrats may want to demonstrate more resistance to Trump, but they would rue a shutdown, he warned. 'The reality would be, if the government were shut down, the administration, Donald Trump, would have the ability to decide where to spend and not spend,' Fleischmann said. 'Schumer knows that, Jeffries knows that. We know that. I think it would be much more productive if we start talking about a short-term (continuing resolution.)' Republican angry about pace of nominations Republicans are considering changes to Senate rules to get more of Trump's nominees confirmed. Thune said last week that during the same point in Joe Biden's presidency, 49 of his 121 civilians nominees had been confirmed on an expedited basis through a voice vote or a unanimous consent request. Trump has had none of his civilian nominees confirmed on an expedited basis. Democrats have insisted on roll call votes for all of them, a lengthy process than can take days. 'I think they're desperately in need of change,' Thune said of Senate rules for considering nominees. 'I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.' Schumer said a rules change would be a 'huge mistake,' especially as Senate Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass spending bills and other legislation moving forward. The Senate held a rare weekend session as Republicans worked to get more of Trump's nominees confirmed. Negotiations focused on advancing dozens of additional Trump nominees in exchange for some concessions on releasing some already approved spending. At times, lawmakers spoke of progress on a potential deal. But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media Saturday evening and told Republicans to pack it up and go home. 'Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!' Trump posted on Truth Social. __ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
Toronto Sun
13 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
HUNTER: Evil cult leader Charles Manson's chilling Canadian connections
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case in 1969. (AP Photo) It would be difficult to put together a more bizarre triumvirate than evil cult killer Charles Manson's bizarre Canadian connections. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account There's the wide-eyed teenage ingenue whose father was a fire-and-brimstone preacher, later seduced by Manson, the Toronto-born biker gang leader and the elderly gangster who was the last man named Public Enemy Number One. I'm currently writing a book entitled, 'Inside the Mind of Charles Manson.' Research uncovered these nuggets (always use primary sources, kids!). Manson was the California cult leader who, in August 1969, unleashed his followers in a Hollywood bloodbath. Nine people, including actress Sharon Tate and coffee heiress Abigail Folger, were butchered. The tiny terror's Family members had unleashed 'Helter Skelter,' Manson's precursor to the apocalypse. Aside from devout Mansonphiles, few people have likely heard of Straight Satans' biker boss Danny DeCarlo or the Svengali's 15-year-old sexual playmate, Ruth Ann Moorehouse. Alvin Karpis? He's an entirely different matter. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Karpis was born in Montreal in 1909 and was a notorious bank robber. His criminal career propelled him into the stratosphere of Depression-era desperadoes as the brains behind the Barker-Karpis Gang. His partners in crime were the Barker brothers, hillbilly hoodlums from the Ozarks. CANADIAN PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE ALVIN KARPIS Intelligent with a photographic memory, when he was finally nabbed in New Orleans in 1936, Karpis was sent to Alcatraz. He served 25 years on The Rock, the longest of anyone. In 1962, he was transferred to McNeil Island Penitentiary in Washington, where his cellmate was a kid he called 'Little Charlie.' 'This kid approaches me to request music lessons. He wants to learn the guitar and become a music star,' Karpis said in his posthumous 1980 biography. ''Little Charlie' is so lazy and shiftless, I doubt if he'll put in the time required to learn. The youngster has been in institutions all of his life — first orphanages, then reformatories, and finally federal prison. He has a pleasant voice and a pleasing personality, although he's unusually meek and mild for a convict.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Days after Manson was arrested in December 1969, the late, much-lamented Montreal Star newspaper caught up with Karpis in his hometown, where he'd been deported. He never pegged the cult leader as a killer, just a greasy petty crook. Recommended video 'Manson had a native slyness about him,' Karpis told the Star . 'He was a meek and mild-mannered sort of fella who was easily likable. Music was his whole life. But I saw nothing but a string of penitentiaries in his future.' Ruth Ann Moorehouse was born in Toronto, the daughter of a devout preacher who moved to California in search of a new flock. She was just 16 years old when she met Manson — and had sex with him for the first time, joining The Family at Spahn Ranch. Her preacher dad wanted to kill Manson, but instead became a follower. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ruth Ann Moorehouse is pictured in a mugshot taken in August 1969. Photo by Los Angeles Police Department Ruth Ann did not take part in the grisly slayings but was often seen outside the courthouse with her head shaved and an 'X' carved into her forehead. And then she got the call to ice a Family member who was going to testify against their Svengali. The young woman went to Hawaii in 1970 with Manson girl Barbara Hoyt. Two would make the journey; the plan for Hoyt was a one-way trip. Moorehouse dosed Hoyt's cheeseburger with 10 hits of acid. Hoyt survived and testified. And then Moorehouse was in the wind. Danny DeCarlo, born June 20, 1944, in Toronto, became an American citizen after serving four years in the U.S. Coast Guard. His initial interactions with Manson were strictly monetary as treasurer of a long-defunct outlaw biker gang called the Straight Satans. Manson wanted guns. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. MANSONS BIKER: Danny DeCarlo, originally from Toronto. LAPD The biker later admitted that among the attractions of Manson's company was the steady supply of drugs and pretty girls who were always up for sex. DeCarlo had earlier been arrested attempting to smuggle marijuana across the border with Mexico. For Manson, having the burly bikers as allies would come in handy when Helter Skelter was unleashed. The rest of DeCarlo's gang didn't much like Charles Manson. Once his brother bikers showed up at Spahn Ranch and threatened to rape and kill everyone if Danny didn't return to Venice with them. Manson offered his own life to end the tense standoff. DeCarlo was at the ranch a week after the horror show that was the Tate-Labianca murders. Somewhere along the line, after hearing of the callous murder of ranchhand Shorty Shea at the hands of The Family, DeCarlo took the hint. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He flipped on the cult leader. 'Charlie would sit down there and run this thing down to them about tearing society apart, things like that, and they (DeCarlo's biker brothers) thought he was nuts and figured they was brainwashing me and they came up there to get me and they were going to take him and wad him up in a rubber ball,' the biker said in 1970. In the days before the massacre, DeCarlo revealed that Manson masqueraded as the Devil. 'He said he was the devil, and that the devil was on the loose,' DeCarlo testified. The biker later returned to Canada with fellow Manson follower Sherry Ann Cooper. They married. Had a kid. Divorced. DeCarlo was reportedly alive and well as of 2023. Manson caught the night train to hell in 2017. Remember, kids, primary sources. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Columnists Wrestling Opinion NHL World
